RSS Feeds: Double the Fun with the Common Feeds List

By NikNik · August 13, 2007 · 2 Comments 

Now when you build your subscription list of RSS Feeds in Internet Explorer 7, you can access the same list within Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. Access your important real estate information (like Real Estate Tech Tips from MyTechOpinion) in both places by sharing one RSS Feeds subscription list via the Common Feeds List in Microsoft Windows. The Common Feeds List is used by programs such as Office Outlook 2007 and Internet Explorer 7 as a common location for RSS Feeds information. So, when you add an RSS Feed to any program that uses the Common Feeds List, that RSS Feed is available in all programs automatically. If an RSS Feed is deleted from the Common Feeds List, it will also be removed from Office Outlook 2007. You can change your current settings within the Advanced Options dialog box to begin this synchronization within Explorer and Outlook (see directions below). If you have not started a RSS Feed subscription list you will be prompted to synchronize by a dialog box with the first RSS Feed you choose to add.

Synchronize my Outlook RSS Feed subscriptions with the Common Feeds List

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Other tab, under General, click Advanced Options.
3. Under General settings, select the Sync RSS Feeds to the Common Feed List check box.

Stop synchronizing my Outlook RSS Feed subscriptions with the Common Feeds List

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Other tab, under General, click Advanced Options.
3. Under General settings, clear the Sync RSS Feeds to the Common Feed List check box.

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Real Estate Backup Technology - Part 2

By Chad A. Johnson · August 6, 2007 · 1 Comment 

Hopefully, Part 1 of this series really got you thinking about the necessity of data backup. Possibly, you have since registered for Carbonite and now have a backup procedure in place. For those seeking a backup solution that does not rely on a separate company, let’s look at a different solution.

Probably the most popular backup solution of the past couple of years is that of the external hard drive. Through the use of traditional internal hard drives nestled in USB enabled enclosures, these devices provide huge storage capacities with relatively fast data transfer rates. Best of all, the cost per gigabyte of storage is cheap (less than $0.50 in many cases).

What has made external hard drives such great backup devices has very little to do with the hardware, though. It is the bundled software that really makes for the backup solution. Without a backup program, it is up to the operator to transfer files to the hard drive. That can be a tedious task and is never continued with the regularity that it should.

External hard drives with bundled backup software make regular data backups effortless. After a simple installation and configuration process, there is no additional work required by the user. Most programs can be configured to backup the entire computer system or select folders. They are also great for incremental backups. This entails a large initial backup, followed by subsequent small backups that cover only new and modified files.

Here are a few external hard drive products that include bundled software for a complete backup solution:

Western Digital My Book Pro – This product has clearly become the most popular external hard drive recently. There are actually 3 different models of the My Book: Essential, Premium and Pro. The Essential has no backup software included and the Premium relies on a Western Digital-branded program. The Pro version worth the extra expense due to the fact that it is bundled with EMC’s Retrospect Express, an industry leader in backup applications. This device has one very unique feature in that it turns itself on and off automatically with the connected computer system. The My Book Pro can connect using USB 2.0, Firewire 400 and mainly for Mac users, blazing fast Firewire 800.

Seagate FreeAgent Pro – Seagate is a late comer to the external hard drive field. Coincidentally, their first product hit the market shortly after they purchased Maxtor (a pioneer in the external hard drive game). Seagate differentiates itself through storage capacity and connectivity. Seagate offers a 750 GB external drive that uses only one hard drive. While other devices using Hitachi’s new 1TB drive are surely on the way, the 750GB is the largest external drive that doesn’t use a RAID configuration. While I use a RAID configuration on my system, I like simplicity when it comes to my backup solution. As for connectivity, the Seagate offers not only the usual USB 2.0 connection, but also incorporates an eSATA port. An eSATA is the same type of port as those already connecting internal hard drives in newer systems. This connects is the very fastest available, but will require an additional PCI card to be installed for most systems as eSATA ports are very uncommon (well worth the extra effort).

Western Digital My Book World – For those with multiple computers to backup, a drive network enabled drive may be for you. The My Book World is virtually the same drive as the My Book Pro, but with a gigabyte Ethernet port. Plug this into a network port, install the EMC Retrospect Express software on each computer and all of your systems are now covered. As an added bonus, the My Book World allows for remote access to files from any Internet connected computer (hence, the name World). Check out this demo for more information on remote access using the Western Digital My Book World.

When purchasing an external drive, buy the largest capacity that you can afford. Most backup software allows for versions of files to be stored. This is a very valuable feature, but it can create backup data bloat. Get a drive with capacity that is larger than your computer’s current storage capacity to allow yourself room to grow.

One last caveat to using an external drive as a backup solution, you will still need to implement some form of offsite backup to protect against fire and theft. I use an external drive for weekly backups and burn data to DVD on a quarterly basis for offsite storage in a safe deposit box. This does add a bit of extra work 4 times a year, but the added protection is worth it.

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Real Estate Agents Streamline Tasks with Word 2007

By Reggie · July 28, 2007 · 2 Comments 

1. Open or type the content you would like to reuse, and highlight it.
2. Select the Insert tab, and then locate the Text grouping.
3. Select the arrow on the Quick Parts button.
4. Select Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery.
5. The Create New Building Block window appears.
1. Name: Name your quick part.
2. Gallery: Choose the Gallery to store the item.
3. Category: Choose your category. I recommend creating a category for real estate.
4. Description: Type a description for the building block.
5. Save In: I recommend keeping the default Word location.
6. Options: Choose to insert only the text, text as new paragraph or text on its own page.

1. Open a new or existing document.
2. Click Insert tab, and then click the Quick Parts button.
3. Click on the desired Quick Part to add to the document where the cursor is placed.
4. Repeat as necessary.

Are you still not sure how this technology works? Watch this quick video for more info.

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Real Estate Backup Technology - Part 1

By Chad A. Johnson · July 15, 2007 · 2 Comments 

I am a fanatic about backing up data. This probably stems from a mishap in college that included a semester project, a floppy disk and an errant piece of sand. Unfortunately, it usually takes a catastrophic loss of data before people get serious about data backup.

The truth of the matter is that data loss happens. It could be a result of hard drive failure, virus, theft, fire, flood and human error. No matter what the source, you need to make sure that you have a backup procedure in place that includes off-site data storage (if your backup is in your house when it catches fire, it will do you no good).

Of the real estate agents that I know, very few have a backup procedure in place. Reasons I hear for not having a backup procedure in place include:

• “My computer is brand new”
• “Data loss doesn’t happen that often”
• “Backing up is too time consuming”
• And my personal favorite, “I don’t really need anything on my computer anyway”.

In response to these excuses I say:

• “Even new hard drives can crash”
• “Data loss is more frequent than you may think and computer theft is even more frequent”
• “A good backup procedure should take no effort once set-up”
• “You have got to be kidding! Your client database and marketing pieces add no value to your real estate business and hence are dispensable?”

In an effort to get every real estate agent who reads Technology for Real Estate to implement a backup procedure, I will be showcasing a different backup solution each week for the next several weeks. The first solution that I will be discussing is Carbonite, an Internet-based backup solution.

Carbonite is a revolutionary backup solution that is cheap, easy to setup and requires no maintenance. Upon registration, the user simply downloads and installs the Carbonite program from http://www.carbonite.com/. That is it!

By default, data folders such as the My Documents folder and Outlook data files are automatically backed up to the Carbonite servers whenever changes are made and an Internet connection is available. Additional files and folders can be added to the backup regiment with a few simple clicks. Colored dots on the folder and file icons provide quick backup status information.

As far as security is concerned, Carbonite encrypts the data before transmission to its servers making the technology a secure backup solution.

For a mere $49.95 a year, Carbonite provides unlimited backup storage capacity. This is one of the most cost-effective and easiest backup solutions available. It provides off-site backup, which safeguards against theft, fire, flood or other natural disaster. Carbonite also safeguards against errant file deletion, allowing you to restore documents that you might have deleted from your computer by accident.

If no-maintenance, cheap and easy data backup seems too good to be true, give Carbonite’s technology a try and see for yourself. Carbonite offers a 15 day risk-free trial that requires no credit card for registration.

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10 Reasons a Real Estate Agent Should Upgrade to Office 2007

By Chad A. Johnson · June 27, 2007 · 10 Comments 

It is almost unfortunate that Microsoft released Office 2007 on the same day of the release of Windows Vista. In the technology shadow of the massive juggernaut, Office received little attention. While I am impressed by Vista, it is the advancements that Microsoft has made in the latest version of Office that really blows me away. These changes are significant enough for me to whole-heartedly recommend Office 2007 to real estate agents, no matter what version of Microsoft Office they are currently using.

The most obvious change (and the one most talked about) is the addition of the new user interface called the “Ribbon”. While I think that the idea of changing the menu options based on your current activity is brilliant, I would like to look beyond the obvious to the smaller features and tweaks. Those little things that you wished Office always had and now does.

While I couldn’t possibly cover all of these new features, I have put together a list of 10 features that has made my life easier and more productive.

1. Save as PDF – The PDF file format is gaining more and more importance in the real estate industry and now you can save your Office files directly as a PDF, no additional software required.
2. Email Merge in Publisher – Email marketing is becoming a standard marketing channel in the real estate industry. Publisher 2007 has now made it easier to send full cover email campaigns to your past client base by adding email merge capability. You can now personalize each email and send it without relying on the BCC field.
3. Indexed Searches in Outlook – Outlook has always had a Find feature, but it has been painfully slow. Searches in Outlook 2007 are virtually instantaneous. Your search keywords are even highlighted in the search results. I would have upgraded just for this feature!
4. Easier Pivot Tables – I am a statistics junky. I love to analyze market activity to find trends. I use pivot tables in Excel to create dynamic tables and charts. The new Excel finally makes creating pivot tables an intuitive process. The pivot charts that it creates look so good that you will want to include them in all of your listing presentations and marketing materials.
5. Context Checking – There? Their? They’re? I often forget which one to use. The new context checking ability in Word will put a blue underline on any word that it feels is misused. I love technology that makes me look smarter.
6. Post to Your Blog From Word – You know that blogging is here to stay when Microsoft incorporates it into Word. You can now publish a post directly from Word to your blog. Why would you want to do this? Think, active spelling, grammar and context checking.
7. Smart Art in Powerpoint – This is so cool that you have to try it. Take a list of bullet points in Powerpoint and turn them into a chart with a click. Use this and your listing presentation will jump to the next level of professionalism.
8. Text Formatting Menu – Right-click on any text and find a formatting menu pop up. No longer do you need to venture off to the top menu to change the font or size of text. This menu as to be using my wrist fatigue.
9. Conditional Formatting in Excel – In college, a professor showed us how to use convoluted formulas to change the background colors of cells in Excel based on the cell’s value. With Excel 2007, you just need to highlight the cell(s), click Conditional Formatting and make a selection. Try this to color code a spreadsheet of listings. Color code listings that sold below asking price in one color and those above as another color. Once you do this, you will see market trends without even putting your glasses on.
10. Graphs that Impress – All I can say is “WOW”! Recreate a graph that you made in a previous version of Office in Office 2007 and get blown away. You will look like a professional graphic artist to your clients.

I’m sure that I missed many indispensable new Office features. If you can think of one, leave a comment telling us about it. We’d love to hear why you think Office 2007 has made your real estate business more efficient.

Tips on Using Microsoft Office 2007 for your real estate business.

View microsoft Office 2007 Video Promotion

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Blackberry Messenger: Helping Real Estate Teams Communicate

By Chad A. Johnson · June 23, 2007 · 1 Comment 

Blackberry devices are a great way for real estate teams to communicate. Having the ability to send and receive emails from anywhere adds an additional channel of communication that previously was limited to the home or office.

There is one noticeable downside to email communication via Blackberry, unless you have invested in a technology called Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES), you may experience as much as a 15-minute lag in the sending and receiving of emails. This lends itself to the possibility of a 30 minute timeframe for an email to be sent and a reply to be received. I have seen real estate teams try to overcome this shortfall through the use of PIN messages. This is a fairly decent alternative technology, but really doesn’t amount to much more than a fancy text message (SMS).

A great technology solution for instant communication is the Blackberry Messenger. This instant messenger program allows real estate agents using such Blackberry models as the Pearl, 8800, and 8300(Curve) to chat as they would using any of the more familiar desktop computer instant messaging programs (AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger). Chat with everyone in your team simultaneously with no delay in transmission. You can even send files and voice notes using the Blackberry Messenger.

If you are not a fan of the Blackberry Messenger, you might be interested in the Yahoo Messenger for Blackberry and Google Talk for Blackberry.

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Paperless Real Estate Technology

By Reggie · May 29, 2007 · 1 Comment 

Today over at Inman Jessica Swesey and Bradley Inman talk about Paperless real estate and where we are today. As you know we have a long way to go. Take a peak if you are interested.

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Zipform Desktop Is Now Vista Compatible

By Chad A. Johnson · May 14, 2007 · 2 Comments 

The wait is over for users of Zipform Desktop (a.k.a. Winforms Desktop). The program is now Vista compatible. For real estate agents who use Windows Vista computers, go to this site to download the 5MB Zipform Desktop Version 1.9 Upgrade.

For those real estate agents in California, the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) website currently has version 1.8 of their Winforms branded Zipform Desktop available. For a fresh install on a Vista computer, download and install the version 1.8 from the C.A.R. site and then download and install the patch mentioned above.

Real estate professionals using Zipform Online will still need to be patient. That product‘s Vista upgrade is still in the works. See our previous article on the Zipform Online Vista work-around.

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8 Essentials for the Mobile Real Estate Agent

By Reggie · May 6, 2007 · 8 Comments 

To be effective, the mobile real estate agent should incorporate many different technology tools into his/her business. But what technology is best? What is really going to make you more efficient in the field? Below I have listed my favorite technologies for mobile Real Estate agents on the go:

Tablet PC  **Updated 6/2008**
Real Estate agents will find that Tablet PC’s have many advantages over the traditional laptop. Most notably the ability to reduce the amount of paper you burn through. With a tablet PC, Real Estate agents can sign important documents such as listing and purchase contracts, emails, and notes onscreen in their own handwriting. This often times eliminates the need for printing entirely. Simply email or fax the document directly to the party in question. In regards to brand and model, I like the convertible HP tc4400 (Core Duo) and Lenovo ThinkPad X61. Both models are ultra-lightweight, provide outdoor viewable displays and manage to provide long battery life. They also have strong wireless and Bluetooth capabilities. The X61 is slightly lighter and also comes with Active Rotate which uses an internal accelerometer to dynamically determine the tablet’s angle and adjust the screen position. This may prove useful when handing your PC over to those buyers in your next contract signing.

VREO Real Estate Dashboard
Real Estate Dashboard is a critical component to truly going paperless. Sure there are tools such as Microsoft Journal that can be used, but they fail when it comes to security. With VREO Real Estate Dashboard, the Real Estate agent must use a password, and all files are created in a proprietary file format. Signatures are then flattened onto their corresponding document, and then allowed to be sent via integrated email or fax technology. Read our previous post here.

TransactionPoint
TransactionPoint is the ultimate piece of Real Estate technology for automating the entire real estate transaction from listing a property to closing the deal. TransactionPoint is integrated with ZipForms for easy form creation. TransactionPoint will also store other transaction related documents for easy retrieval. You may also benefit from reduced liability for E&O (Errors and Omissions) insurance, as TransactionPoint saves a permanent record of emails and other communication in the communication log

Digital Camera with Wide Angle Lens **Updated 6/2008**
homes they sell. So why use a marginal camera for those photos that help sell the home? Real Estate agents should look for a quality digital camera. I recommend the incredibly light Canon Rebel XTi with wide-angle lens. The camera takes great high-quality photos. The Rebel boasts a huge amount of features, but presents them in a very easy to understand interface. Works with PictBridge compatible printers such as the i80 referenced below.

SmartPhone **Updated 6/2008**
With the Blackberry, Treo or Windows Mobile device Real Estate agents can streamline their business greatly by taking advantage of wireless MLS capabilities, free business and local search tools, mobile calendar & email, calculators, etc. Personally I’m a fan of the Blackberry Curve 8310. Mainly because of overall size, full QWERTY keyboard and outstanding email capabilities. The 8310 also includes GPS capabilities and 2 mega-pixel camera with flash. If you’re looking for a 3G network…you’ve still got a few more months for the Blackberry Bold.  Needless to say Treo and Windows Devices are also very popular. I really believe you should hold each of the phones before you purchase.

3G Wireless Access
Real Estate agents spend a great deal of time accessing online information via MLS, CMA utilities, buyers tours, email, door-to-door directions, fax to email solutions and more. So why wait until you get back to the office. Real Estate Agents who embrace this technology will uncover many time benefits. Read our article here for items to consider when selecting a service.

Mobile GPS **Updated 6/2008**
As the mobile real estate professional you need to know where you are going 100% of the time. That’s why a mobile GPS utility may prove useful. I recommend the Garmin Nuvi 880. With this unit you’ll surely get from point A to point B, but you may also save time with its integrated traffic tuner capabilities. You can even keep both hands on the steering wheel with the Hands-free feature for Bluetooth phones, and text-to-speech control.

Mobile Printer **Updated 6/2008**
This piece of real estate technology will surely impress real estate agent’s on-the-go that require a printer for photos and more. I recommend the Canon PIXMA ip100, as it comes with the ability to print high-resolution at up to 9600 x 2400. Speeds are around 20 pages per minute b/w and 14 color. You may want to connect using the IrDA port from your tablet pc…at a range of up to 10 feet. Even print directly from your PictBridge compatible digital camera. The Canon ip100 can also accommodate a car adaptor for power or take advantage of the portable kit which includes rechargeable Li-On battery and holder.

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Winforms meets Microsoft Vista

By Reggie · March 26, 2007 · 3 Comments 

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Hosted Exchange Email for Your Real Estate Business

By Chad A. Johnson · March 18, 2007 · 5 Comments 

These days, it is difficult to find a real estate agent that works on only one computer or who doesn’t work with an assistant or in a team. For those of you who fit that description, you have probably found that you have outgrown the standard configuration of Outlook. Your contacts, calendar and tasks are on only one computer. Other computers that you use don’t have that information and you are unable to share that information with teammates or an assistant. The good news is that it is now easy to overcome these limitations.

Outlook Exchange is a server based version of Outlook. All contacts, calendar events tasks and emails are stored on a server. The user then configures their standard Outlook software to communicate with that server. This means that you can have the exact same Outlook data on multiple computers with no additional effort.

For times that you need to access your Outlook data when away from your computer, you can access your server’s Outlook Web Access (OWA) page from any Internet capable computer. OWA gives you full access to your data with most of the functionality of the Outlook program. This can be a real savior when on vacation. I accessed my OWA page from a coffee shop in Italy and was able to respond to an urgent client email.

For real estate agents working in a team or with an assistant, Outlook Exchange adds collaborative features that you will wonder how you ever lived without. Share contacts and calendars with teammates. Invite teammates to appointments and have the time blocked off on their calendar. Store Microsoft Office files in public folders so that everyone can find them (think marketing materials).

Other value-added functionality includes auto-reply capabilities for times that you are out of town or in conferences, and the ability to sync your Outlook data with any Windows Mobile 5.0 or 6.0 smartphone (see my posting on smartphone options for real estate agents).

Up until recently, only large corporations could afford the high cost of Outlook Exchange implementation. This has changed due to the numerous Outlook Exchange hosting services that have popped up. My personal favorite is a company called 1and1.com. They offer Outlook Exchange hosting for $6.99 a month per user. What really differentiates 1and1.com from the competition is the storage place that they offer. Most Outlook Exchange hosting services offer a miniscule 100 MB per user. 1and1.com offers 1 GB of storage per user (10 times the space).

1and1.com offers free domain names and Outlook software with your subscription. Most real estate agents that I have set-up on this service have their domain name tied to their website hosted on a different server. There is an easy solution to this. You can have your emails automatically forwarded from your website host to your 1and1.com account. You then configure your 1and1.com account to send emails with your email address as the “from” address.

Give this service a try. 1and1.com offers a 90 day money back guarantee, so there is no risk. Once you experience the added functionality, you will appreciate Outlook much more and will never go back to a standard POP3 Outlook configuration again.

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Real Estate Agents: Windows Vista Isn’t a Good View for You, Yet.

By Chad A. Johnson · February 4, 2007 · Leave a Comment 

The wait is finally over. Microsoft has finally released its replacement for the aging Windows XP operating system. You may be wondering if you should go out and purchase a new computer running this highly publicized new operating system or purchase an upgrade. My advice to you is keep waiting.

There are 2 main reasons to NOT purchase Vista at this time. The first is related to hardware compatibility. Every component of a computer needs software, called drivers, to work properly and these drivers are operating system specific. Not all hardware has stable drivers available for Vista as of yet. In fact, Reggie Nicolay (my fellow blogger) and I are ready to purchase new home machines running Vista (we are keeping Windows XP on all of our business machines), but the manufacturer is having driver issues so we are waiting as well.

The second reason to NOT purchase Vista at this time has to do with software compatibility. While main stream software companies seem to be reasonably prepared for Vista, it is going to take weeks, if not months, for real estate and lending software companies to update their products for Vista. In my area, 2 invaluable programs (Winforms and our MLS) are not Vista compatible. Without those tools, an agent couldn’t do business.

If you are in the market for a new computer…

Hold off if you can. If you are in a situation where you need a new computer, purchase one with Windows XP installed and get an “Express Upgrade” coupon for Vista. Many computer manufacturers are still offering XP on machines and there are still many machines in stock at your local big-box store with XP loaded.

The Express Upgrade coupon is available for any computer purchased since October. Those coupons can be redeemed for a free upgrade copy of Vista (usually with a $10 shipping charge). The catch is that they must be redeemed by March 31st of this year. So if you bought a computer in that timeframe, dig out that coupon, send it in and then hold on to the Vista upgrade disc until the dust settles.

If you are considering upgrading…

What’s the rush? From what I have read, there aren’t many features that are going to enhance your real estate business, but the time you waste dealing with incompatibilities will definitely take away from your productivity.

Only consider an upgrade to Vista if the computer is relatively new (look for a Windows Vista Capable sticker on the machine) or if you got an Express Upgrade coupon with your machine. Even then you need to do your homework before you move forward with the installation. Contact the manufacturer of the machine to determine if compatible drivers are available and how to get them. That isn’t too difficult and those types of problems should be solved soon. You will also need to identify all of the programs that you rely on and determine if they are Vista compatible. This can usually be found out by visiting the software manufacturer’s website.

The lure of a new operating system can be tempting, especially for those of us with an affinity towards technology, but we can’t lose site of our objectives. If you are a real estate agent, your objective is to sell houses, not invest hours to overcome technical issues. Keep life simple and let others be the guinea pigs for Vista.

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